How does social support shape the relationship between career calling and PERMA?

Background: Career calling has received significant attention in the last decade, showing an association between calling and varied aspects of wellbeing. However, there is scarce work that has contextualized these concepts within the individual’s immediate environment. This paper explored the role of social support in the association between career calling and wellbeing.

Methods: This cross-sectional study is a correlational study based on a survey data from a sample of 96 Turkish immigrant women currently living in the United Kingdom. Quantitative analyses were used, including hierarchical regression and mediation analysis to examine the associations between career calling, social support and wellbeing.

Results: Results showed that both presence and search dimensions of career calling, and social support from a special person, family and friends had significant associations with PERMA (Positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment). The path analysis showed some indirect effects in this relationship, such that support from family and friends predicted higher levels of wellbeing via the mediational role of search for a calling for this group of immigrant women.

Discussions: These findings add notable insight to literature that explores the indirect ways of the relations between career calling, support and wellbeing. The present study showed that social support can shape the relation between career calling and wellbeing in such a way that the importance of social support for immigrant women become more apparent.

Conclusions: The implications of the results underlined the importance of considering career calling and wellbeing within the wider social context of the individuals. Especially in a time when uncertainties and anxieties are on the rise, career calling can help people live a better life, and a contextual positive psychology perspective to career calling can further contribute to how different groups of people individually as well as collectively experience it.

This is a pre-publication version of the following article: Baskurt, A. B., & Kampman, H. (2022). How does social support shape the relationship between career calling and PERMA? European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 6,
4, 1-15. https://www.nationalwellbeingservice.org/volumes/volume-6-2022/volum...